Eternal Country

Tang Zitong clearly wasn't the shy type. Smiling, she stepped forward and extended her hand."Hello, Brother Yi. At school, Ziyan often mentioned you. When I heard she was suddenly coming back, I thought I'd tag along and visit too."

"Hello, please come in."

Yi Tianxing nodded politely and shook her hand briefly before letting go.

Once inside the house, Yi Tianxing quickly boiled some water and brewed three cups of tea. Pre-rain Longjing—gifted to him by a former client.

"Brother, is something going on? You called me back in such a hurry. Don't tell me you've finally found a sister-in-law and want to introduce her to me first so I can say something nice about her to Mom and Dad?"

Zhao Ziyan joked as she sank into the soft sofa, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.

"Your brother's still single—where would I find a sister-in-law?"

Yi Tianxing gave her a helpless look. "Don't worry, if I ever do find someone, you'll be the first to vet her. The reason I called you back is because of something serious."

He glanced toward Tang Zitong.

Zhao Ziyan immediately grabbed Tang Zitong's hand and smiled intimately."Brother, Zitong is my best friend. We tell each other everything—no secrets between us. She's not an outsider, so just say whatever it is."

Clearly, her words came from deep affection. The bond between best friends was something Yi Tianxing didn't quite understand.

He simply shook his head.

Still, he said nothing further. If he hadn't experienced the Great Cataclysm himself—and nearly died in it—he wouldn't believe it either. The disaster was coming tomorrow. Today was the second day. Even if he told people, they might just laugh it off. But maybe, just maybe, some might survive because of it.

"I had a dream last night," Yi Tianxing said slowly after a moment of contemplation.

"What kind of dream? You hardly ever dream, and whenever you do, they're freakishly accurate," Zhao Ziyan said eagerly. She knew from childhood that her brother rarely dreamed—but when he did, something out of the ordinary always followed. No wonder she was curious.

"I dreamed of the apocalypse. A great cataclysm engulfing heaven and earth."

Yi Tianxing took a deep breath and spoke in a solemn tone.

"What?!" Zhao Ziyan exclaimed in shock.

Tang Zitong's expression also changed, clearly shaken. The end of the world? A catastrophe of heaven and earth? That was no ordinary dream. If it came true, the entire world might plunge into chaos.

"You're saying the apocalypse is about to hit? That's why you called me back—and want Mom and Dad to come home too?"

Zhao Ziyan was sharp. She immediately connected the dots. But a sense of unease crept into her heart.

She knew how accurate her brother's dreams were. Uncannily so. Whenever he dreamed, something would happen—and most of the time, the dream matched reality.

Was it really the end of the world?

The apocalypse was coming?

"That seems unlikely, doesn't it?" Tang Zitong said cautiously. "It's not 2012, and there haven't been any reports of viruses or pandemics. No earthquakes, no storms, no tsunamis. Everything around the world seems peaceful. How could the end suddenly arrive?"

She kept up with current events. No signs of any global anomalies. Ever since Resident Evil came out, countries had been especially cautious about viral outbreaks. No one wanted a biohazard apocalypse or zombie virus. That would be catastrophic.

No one wanted to die—viruses didn't discriminate.

"In the dream, I saw the sky crack open and countless monsters descend onto Earth, slaughtering everything in sight. Corpses everywhere. Blood everywhere. It wasn't any less terrifying than a zombie apocalypse. In fact, it was even worse. You could die at any moment. For ordinary people, it would be the end."

Yi Tianxing's expression grew darker.

Without seeing it for yourself, it was impossible to grasp how terrifying it was.

Even he, someone not exactly "ordinary," had felt despair and powerlessness in the face of that nightmare. Nothing could stop it. Once it started, everything—order, morality, society—would collapse.

"It was just a dream. It may not happen," Tang Zitong said, frowning slightly, still skeptical.

If she hadn't heard about Yi Tianxing's uncanny abilities from Zhao Ziyan—and hadn't done her own background checks—she'd think he was crazy. But he really was famous in the underground world as an exorcist. Known for driving out spirits and demons, ranked among the best.

If it weren't him, she wouldn't believe a word of it.

"Better safe than sorry. We'll know for sure the day after tomorrow. If I'm right, the cataclysm begins on the morning of the 23rd. Today is the afternoon of the 21st. Tomorrow is the 22nd. That gives us one more day. I hope it's just a false alarm. But still—preparing doesn't hurt."

Yi Tianxing looked at Tang Zitong. He wasn't expecting them to fully believe him—not from a few words. That would be unrealistic.

If they did believe him instantly, that'd be even more suspicious.

"Alright, Brother, what do we need to prepare?"

Zhao Ziyan asked seriously. She didn't seem afraid. After all, she had trained with Yi Tianxing before, learning internal martial arts like Tai Chi. Her skills were solid—ordinary thugs wouldn't stand a chance against her. She'd once taken down three gangsters with a few punches during her school days, leaving them crawling on the ground.

Because of that, the local punks avoided her like the plague.

With martial skills came courage.

Even hearing such world-shaking news, she remained surprisingly calm.

"Before you came, I already started making preparations. Through various channels, I've ordered large amounts of supplies. Some of it's already been delivered to a secret base I built on the outskirts. Personnel are on-site to receive the goods and store them properly. It's an underground facility—even the surface-level guards don't know what's hidden below."

"All supplies are sealed, with no markings. Unless opened, no one knows what's inside. The guards are trustworthy, honest people. I told them to just place the deliveries into the passage and leave. Once sealed, the base can only be accessed through my voice and password. No one else can even find the entrance."

"The amount of supplies I've bought is enough to support nearly a thousand people for a year."

Yi Tianxing sounded confident. The cost of these supplies was astronomical. Food, clothes, medicine, even seeds for crops—he'd bought it all.

The underground base was built to his specifications, with standards for both nuclear and aerial defense. Massive in size, with high-end equipment—among the best in the world. From the beginning, it was designed with secrecy and safety in mind.

Almost no one knew about it. Even the guards believed it was just a storage facility.

Modern logistics were fast. Moving large quantities of supplies could be done in a day or two.

"I also had a portion of the supplies delivered here by courier. Some essential survival gear. Judging by the time, it should be arriving soon." Yi Tianxing checked his watch, smiled, and said calmly.

Ding-dong!!

Just as his voice faded, the doorbell rang.

Zhao Ziyan quickly got up to answer the door. Outside, several couriers were unloading a huge pile of packages. One of them checked the unit number and asked, "Is this Mr. Yi Tianxing's residence?"

"I'm Yi Tianxing," he replied, stepping forward.

"Package delivery for you. Please sign here," said the courier, handing him the clipboard.

After verifying his identity and signing, they began moving box after box into the house. In no time, the living room was almost full. The deliveries included all sorts of items.

As they carried in the packages, one of the couriers chuckled and asked, "Mr. Yi, are you opening a supermarket or something? We don't often see private customers buy in such bulk."

They were clearly curious. It wasn't common for individuals to order so much.

"No, it's just some stuff a relative asked me to help store. They'll come pick it up later," Yi Tianxing replied calmly, smiling as he deflected their questions.

They chatted casually as the packages were unloaded.

With Yi Tianxing helping, everything was moved quickly into the living room. Soon, the once-neat space looked more like a warehouse.

Once everything was verified and signed off, the couriers left.

Yi Tianxing closed the door behind them.

Zhao Ziyan and Tang Zitong both stared blankly at the mountain of supplies now stacked in the living room. There was barely any space left to walk—no room to even put your foot down.